Today we celebrate of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the fundamental faith of the Catholic Church: that God is one in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The belief that from all eternity the Father has begotten the Son, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from their mutual love, and that each of these three Persons possesses the fullness of the divine essence which is one alone. The Father begets the Son by a perfect and loving gift of self, bestowing upon him the fullness of divinity and keeping none for himself. In absolute love and thanksgiving, the Son gives himself over by submitting to the Father’s will with perfect obedience and filial trust. The Holy Spirit comes forth as the self-giving love between the Father and the Son. Thus, the Trinity is ultimately a communion of love between the three divine Persons, a love that is always fruitful and dynamic because of the complete self-giving between them.
The beautiful thing is that this communion of love is not closed in on itself, but enters into a relationship with the world it has freely created. Nothing is lacking in God; the love that is shared between the Persons wholly fulfills Him. Still, He chooses the create us, to enter into a relationship with us, and to invite us into that perfect communion of love that He is. To do so, the Son, in His absolute disponibility and readiness to do the Father’s will, is sent for the salvation of the world. The Holy Spirit guides Him and strengthens him to accomplish the Father’s will, and even during his absolute separation from the Father at his death on the Cross the Spirit remains with Him as the presence of the love He shares with the Father.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises this same Spirit to the disciples. In doing so, he explains that the Spirit does not speak on his own, but declares what is from him, the Son, and the Father. As such, Jesus highlights the unity of the three Persons, indeed, the oneness of the one God.
In spite of the mystery that surrounds the understanding of God as a communion of love between three persons, Jesus assures the disciples that Spirit of truth who will lead us into all truth. And what is this truth? What is truer and more real than God himself, than this communion of love whom He himself is, and whom we are invited into? The Holy Spirit is given to us as the Paraclete, as the one to guide us so that we may come to that beatific vision of seeing God and sharing in His love. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to come and be ever more present in our souls, teaching us to be increasingly more like God, able to give of ourselves to Him and to others in love.
Santiago Torres – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
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